by E.J. Stevens
Before stepping in the shower, I’d wiped down my boots, removed the insoles, and stuffed them with dry towels. I pulled out the soggy towels, tossed them into the tub, and aimed the blow dryer inside the boot shaft. The heat would be hell on the leather, but right now I was more worried about my feet. I pulled the boots on with a tug and wiggled my toes. They were damp, but if I was going to face an angry lamia, a piper with an enchanted demon flute, and a dancing ring of the animated dead, I wanted steal toes and a place to hide my dagger.
My weapons came next. I strapped a forearm sheath to each arm, and slid my throwing knives in and out, testing that they were secure, but could be pulled easily. If I needed my blades, I wouldn’t have any time to spare. Every wasted second could mean my death, or the loss of someone I cared about. I thrust a dagger into my boot and shrugged on my leather jacket.
I stood and looked in the mirror. The face staring back at me didn’t look at all like a princess, but it would have to do. At least I no longer smelled like rotting flesh.
I stepped out into our loft apartment and stopped dead in my tracks. While I’d been in the shower, Jinx had transformed. I may be the faerie princess, but I looked like a thug in my jeans and leathers. Jinx, my totally human best friend, was just missing a crown.
Jinx stood in a short, sequin-covered shift that reflected and caught the light in hundreds of sparkling rainbows. Her black hair was held up with wooden hair sticks that could double as stakes and she’d abandoned the matching sequined clutch for a velvet bag which she’d slung over one shoulder. The bag was large enough to carry a crossbow and a hip quiver packed with iron bolts.
Jinx had foregone matching accessories for weapons? That could only mean one thing. Jinx was going with us to Club Nexus.
My heart did a flip-flop of joy and fear. I was secretly pleased that my friend was willing to go with me, but she was only human. I didn’t know what would happen to her once we stepped inside the club, or if they would even let her through the doors. I started to shake my head, but Jinx raised a hand and put the other firmly on her hip.
“I’m going with you,” she said.
“But…” I said.
“No,” she said, shaking a finger at me. “There is no way you’re leaving me behind on this one. I am not missing my best friend’s introduction to fae society.”
I flicked my eyes at Ceff, who had the sense to take a step back.
“I am sorry,” he said. “I thought Jinx should know where we were going, in case she needed to contact us. I didn’t realize that she would wish to attend your coming out ceremony.”
I narrowed my eyes. Ceff was so busted. Jinx would never miss a party. I was pretty sure that my boyfriend was well aware of that, but had told her where we were going anyway. Thing was, I had no idea why.
That made me more nervous than the thought of battling Melusine or The Piper. If Ceff thought I needed Jinx along for backup, then maybe there was more to this faerie royalty thing than I realized. But what other choice did I have?
The children were still out there somewhere. I had to find those kids tonight, but there were too many graveyards and cemeteries where The Piper could be hiding. We had to narrow down the search.
And I needed leads on Will-o’-the-Wisp. I had to track down my father if I wanted to continue taking any cases that involved leaving my apartment. I’d been lucky so far, but I didn’t expect that luck to hold out. If I didn’t find a way to control my wisp powers and learn to create a concealing glamour, the faerie courts would have me executed for treason—whether I was a princess or not.
I sighed.
“Okay, but I can’t guarantee they’ll let you inside the club,” I said.
“Yes!” Jinx exclaimed.
She squeezed her eyes shut and did a little happy dance. Even her eye makeup looked fit for a princess. Jinx had applied faerie ointment so that she would have the ability to see through most faerie glamour.
Unlike Jenna who usually slathers the stuff on like petroleum jelly, Jinx uses a makeup brush. Jinx normally adds a bit of dark pigment to the ointment and uses it to line her eyes, but tonight she was going for a more dramatic look—one that would allow her see and be seen. She’d added glitter to the dark pigment and ointment, and brushed it onto her entire eyelid in bold strokes.
The smell of clover was strong as she blinked away happy tears, showing off eyelids that looked like a starry midnight sky. I clutched the door casing, overcome by dizziness.
*****
I sank into the memory of a long forgotten night, the heady smell of clover in my nose and my eyes on the stars. I was lying on a bed of clover, staring up at the star filled night sky. My father, Will-o’-the-Wisp, leaned over me into my line of sight.
I smiled, reaching my arms up for a hug. He lifted me into strong arms and kissed my forehead, then set me on his shoulders where I grabbed at the glowing fireflies dancing around his head. He carried me across the lawn and toward the house. It was the same house I’d grown up in with my mother and stepfather, but it looked brighter, cleaner, and larger than I remembered. Even beneath the night sky, flowers surrounded the house in full bloom.
We met my mother on the porch and I squealed as father pulled me from his shoulders. He pretended I was flying as he lowered me down to the freshly painted porch.
The house wasn’t the only thing to look refreshed. My mother was fully transformed. Until now, I hadn’t remembered her ever looking so happy. The perpetual lines in her forehead were gone and her eyes crinkled at the corners. For once my mother wasn’t frowning. Her smile was radiant.
Her face, and my father’s, began to blur. I tried to hold on, to make the memory last just a bit longer, but the happy moment was replaced by a second memory. This new memory was from a different day entirely.
“Please don’t leave,” my mother sobbed.
She was on the porch and I crouched inside the house, behind the half-open door. I could hear her voice shaking, but she stood just out of sight of my hiding spot. Her hands were the only part of her that I could see clearly.
My father was standing on the front lawn. He was holding a lantern that shone strangely and cast eerie shadows over his face. His shoulders were slumped and he looked like he was in pain. I wanted to run to him and ask if he was hurt, but something about the lantern in his hand frightened me.
I held my breath and listened.
“I must go,” he said.
He lifted the hand that held the lantern to his head, and lowered it with a frustrated groan. He raised the other hand to run fingers through his hair and let out a lengthy sigh.
“You…you can’t let it go, can you?” my mother asked.
Her hands shook where she clasped them together in front of her. I didn’t think I’d be able to look at my mother’s hands the same way again. The woman I knew was hard and solemn. She’d never looked so weak or upset before, but those hands, shaking and clasping each other over and over, spoke volumes. My mother was terrified.
My father demonstrated trying to set the lantern down, but could not. No matter what he tried, the lantern remained in his hand.
“I can’t be rid of the cursed thing,” he said. “So long as I hold this damnable lantern, I cannot escape the devil’s eye. I must leave you, or risk the attention of Hell. I won’t bring that on you and Ivy. I’d rather die first.”
He looked worn and haggard, as if he’d aged overnight.
“There must be another way,” my mother said. Her hands fisted. “What about the fae? You are a king. There must be others who can help.”
“I’m sorry, love,” he said. “Wisps are solitary, usually preferring their own kind. We are short on powerful allies. No, I must leave. But I promise to return when I find a way to break this fool bargain. Until then, I forbid you to speak of me. Forget.”
My mother’s hands fluttered, going limp, and the memory blurred. I thought I heard my father whisper, “I’m so sorry, Sarah, please forgive me,” but I couldn’t be su
re. The memories, and the answers they may have held, were gone.
*****
I blinked rapidly, leaning against the doorframe. Jinx hovered, eyes wide.
“Dude, you okay?” Jinx asked. “What did you touch?”
What did you touch? The words took a moment to make sense. Jinx thought I’d had a vision, but this wasn’t the result of my psychic gift. It was a memory, leaking past the magical barrier my father had cast on my mind. The spell had been unraveling for months, leaving my wisp abilities exposed. Now it was giving me a glimpse into my past.
“Ivy?” Ceff asked.
Ceff stood rigid, the knuckles of his fists gone white with the strain of holding himself back. He still wasn’t used to my lapses of reality and was obviously worried. He looked like he wanted to scoop me up into his arms, but knew enough to keep away. Instead, he studied my face intently.
“I’m okay,” I said. “It wasn’t a vision. I…I remembered something from my childhood. It was a memory of my father.”
I gently bit my lip and smiled. Ceff blew out a long breath and flashed a smile in return.
“A good memory?” he asked.
“Yes and no,” I said. I struggled to find the right words. “My father didn’t abandon us. He left to protect us.”
I explained what I had seen in both memories.
“Soooooooo,” Jinx said. She lifted a hand and ticked off each point with sparkly tipped fingers. “Your real dad made a deal with the devil that went south. He ended up cursed to carry some kind of tainted Hell beacon, and now he’s wandering the earth looking for a cure. And if he finds one, he’ll come back to you and your mom and maybe lift the memory spell.”
“Yes,” I said.
“So if your real dad comes back, what happens to your stepfather?” she asked.
“I have no idea,” I said. “I don’t know if my dad will ever come back, or find a way to break the curse. But now I know that he wasn’t some fae creep who used my mom for sex and tossed her away when he got bored with her. No offense.”
I aimed the last at Ceff.
“None taken,” Ceff said a wry smile on his lips.
I’d spent the last few months convinced that I had a deadbeat dad who’d used his fae powers to take advantage of my mother. But now I knew the truth. My parents had loved each other. We had been a happy family before my father made a bargain with Hell. I didn’t know yet if there was a way to break the curse laid upon my father, but one thing was certain.
I was prepared to do anything to get my family back.
Chapter 19
I’m not sure if it was the awakening of my fae blood or the awareness that the place existed, but Club Nexus wasn’t difficult to find. As soon as we were within a block of the club, I could feel the energies of the place pulling me closer. In my second sight the nightclub shone like a beacon.
I took a deep, calming breath and closed my eyes. I remembered what Kaye had said about how the club sat on a magical nexus point where lines of power intersected. I opened my eyes and gasped. Threads of neon light ran out from the location of the club in every direction.
I picked a single pink ley line and followed. My skin prickled and the hair on my arms stood on end. I continued on toward the intersection of threads, feeling energized for the first time in days. Walking along the ley line was like knocking back a shot of espresso. It was no wonder fae had chosen this place to gather.
When the club was within sight, I stopped to examine the surrounding street. The only source of light was the glow of power coming from the skein of ley lines running through the building which housed the club. There were no streetlamps in this part of town and the windows of nearby buildings stood dark. The street was empty except for the fae bouncer working the door.
A huge ogre stood outside the club, eyeing me with obvious scrutiny. The bulge in his suit jacket told me he was carrying, not that he needed a weapon. The guy had muscles the size of tree trunks. He had to be club security.
I swallowed hard, wishing I could have called Jenna for backup. But she was busy working an official cleanup job out in the burbs. Then again, maybe bringing a Hunter along would have been foolhardy. I was here to talk, not wage a war.
The ogre sniffed at the air as I started across the street. At our approach, he raised an arm which effectively blocked the door.
“Name?” he asked.
“Ivy Granger,” I said.
“Court?” he asked.
“Unseelie,” I said.
“Title?” he asked.
It was now or never—time to come out of the fae closet. I took a breath and lifted my chin.
“Wisp princess, daughter of Will-o’-the-Wisp, king of the wisps,” I said.
The ogre raised an eyebrow and checked something off on a list that magically appeared in one hand.
“You may enter,” he said.
I stepped to one side and crossed my arms, fingers brushing my throwing knives.
“I’ll wait for my friends, if you don’t mind,” I said.
The ogre rolled his eyes, gave me a suit-yourself shrug, and turned to Ceff.
“Name?” he asked.
“Ceffyl Dŵr,” Ceff said.
“Court?” he asked.
“Unseelie,” Ceff said.
“Title?” he asked.
“King of the kelpies,” Ceff said.
“You may enter,” he said.
Ceff stepped up next to me and waited. The ogre leaned toward Jinx and sniffed. I held my breath, ready to launch myself between the two if needed.
“Human?” he asked.
“She’s with me,” I said.
“Food or vassal?” he asked.
“Partner,” I said, voice hard.
“Vassal,” Ceff said.
“You may enter,” he said.
The ogre stepped away from Jinx and opened the door. As we passed through the entrance he sniffed Jinx’s hair and drooled.
“Too bad,” he muttered.
Jinx tensed. Jinx is not food, my mind screamed. The grips of my throwing knives hit my palms, but weapons were unnecessary. Jinx kept walking, following us into the faerie den. The ogre sighed and returned to his post beside the door. My best friend may have looked and smelled like a harmless human, but she had balls of steel.
We descended a spiral staircase that was both beautiful to look at and practical in terms of defense. If any unauthorized guests ever made it past the door, the tight curves of the staircase would slow an assault. It also gave the entire room an ample view of Jinx’s legs as we entered the club.
The stairs cut through the ceiling of the club, giving us a bird’s eye view. The space below was cavernous.
Music thumped over an invisible sound system, the stairs beneath my feet vibrating with each beat. The sensation at this height was nauseating, but I was relieved that the haunting notes of faerie compulsion were absent. The music was unusual, but decidedly human—a mix of techno, industrial, and EBM with threads of sitar and djembe drums woven throughout.
My heartbeat started to match the pulse of the music and I shifted my focus. The music may not carry a compulsion, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t powerful, or a dangerous distraction.
I turned my attention to the supernatural club goers. Fae of every size, shape, and court affiliation crowded the room. Nymphs, sylphs, kappa, draugr, and henkies filled the dance floor. One group of tall, slender fae dressed in old fashioned clothing moved through the steps of a waltz, dancing to their own inner music.
But not every faerie was dancing. Fae lined the walls, lounged on couches, or perched at the bar. Strobe lights from the dance floor illuminated spiral horns, beautiful eyes, perfect teeth, curled tusks, pale feathers, dripping fangs, and sharp talons—capturing bizarre Kodak moments interrupted by darkness.
I pulled my attention from the multitude of fae in the lower levels to a roped off area high above their heads. A second tier rose above the crowd and here fae gathered in small, private groupings. Th
ese gathering places were set far apart from each other, allowing for maximum privacy. To ensure that they were not disturbed, each area boasted its own security. Judging from what I could see from my aerial vantage point, the club also offered these elite clients a lavish spread of food, drink, and entertainment.
This had to be the location set aside for fae royalty.
I hurried down the stairs, ready to make a beeline for the faeries on the second tier. If Sir Torn was here, he’d be on that upper level. The club may be neutral ground, but it was organized to reflect fae hierarchy—and Torn was a cat sidhe lord.
The music stopped, the room going silent, and I froze mid-step. Every eye in the place turned to the stairs where we hung from the ceiling like flies on fly paper. If this was a trap, we were as good as dead.
I slowly lowered my foot and shifted my weight onto the balls of my feet. I scanned the room for movement, waiting for a sign from the fae below. I caught a flash of flame to my right and spun, chiding myself. I was so focused on the floor below that I hadn’t searched the domed ceiling that arched just inches from our heads.
A fiery ball of flame and feathers rushed toward me. I reached for my throwing knives, but someone grabbed my sleeve, halting the movement. I risked a glance over my shoulder to see Ceff holding my jacket. He gave a quick, short shake of his head. I raised an eyebrow in question, but he was already whispering to Jinx who was reaching for her crossbow.
I lowered my hands, but kept them loose at my side. If Ceff believed the fiery ball flying toward me wasn’t a threat, then I’d play along—for now.
Seconds later a winged phoenix settled on the railing beside me. It cocked its head at me, making a chirping sound low its throat. After a moment’s inspection, it turned, satisfied, and faced the crowd. Flickers of flame raced along the edges of its red and gold feathers, sending up tendrils of cinnamon and myrrh scented smoke that made my eyes water. The phoenix puffed itself up, a rush of heat flowing out from its body, as it ruffled its feathers and addressed the crowd below.